Machine element



5. A. BULIN MACHINE ELEMENT Aug. 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 5, 1963 INVENTOR 5/15: 0 ALBERT Buu/Y 14 TT'ORME'Y S A- BULIN MACHINE ELEMENT Aug. 9, 1966 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Original Filed June 5, 1963 INVENTOR. 5HELLY ALBERT BUL/N HTTORNEY United States Patent cousin Original application June 5, 1963, Ser. No. 285,710. Di-

24, 1965, Ser. No.

vided and this application Aug.

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-6) This application is a division of the application of Shelly A. Bulin, Serial No. 285,710, filed June 5, 1963, and the present invention relates to machine elements and particularly to a journal bearing construction wherein it is desirable to keep the cost as reasonable as possible, consistent with good or superior reliability. Particularly, it relates to bearings for straw walkers as used in threshing mechanism, and an object of the invention is to generally improve the construction and operation of devices of this class.

Prior constructions used for this purpose have left something to be desired, and the principal object of the present invention is to supply such a journal bearing which will have superior reliability and quality and which at the same time can be produced at substantially less cost than prior arrangements.

Such crankshafts in the past have been formed by bending a rough rod or shaft into a plurality of offset journal portions and then machining, grinding, or otherwise finishing the journal portions to a suitable polished bearing surface. The bearing itself to be run on this surface took the form of a block of hard wood which had been soaked or boiled in oil or suitable lubricant I and which would run on the polished surface for long periods without attention. However, such bearings had a tendency to wander down the bent portions of the shaft which extended between the individual journals, and to stop this action, washers were welded to the shaft or otherwise fixed thereon at the ends of the finished portions so as to engage the ends of the wood blocks and prevent their displacement axially of the journals. Such operation tended to be costly, and it was not always possible to maintain proper tolerances as to dimensions. Furthermore, it was difficult to maintain the washers square or at right angles to the journals. These difficulties were increased by the fact that the shaft was rough in the regions away from the actual finished journals, and it was to this rough portion that the washers were welded or otherwise fixed. In addition, the heating of the shaft in order to weld the washers in place could tend to cause undesirable warping of the shaft so that the finished article would either have to be discarded or would require straightening operations before it would 'be acceptable. By the present invention, these difficulties are avoided and a device is provided which is of superior quality and reliability.

The construction and features of a preferred embodiment of the invention are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which: I

FIG. 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view with parts omitted showing a fragment of the separator portion of a typical combine or threshing machine in which the invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a fragment of the same, taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical axial sectional view of one of the bearings, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view with parts broken away, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Similar reference characters have been applied to the same parts wherever they occur throughout the specification and drawings.

Turning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the illustrative machine comprises a housing 10 which supports a bearing construction generally designated as 12, which supports the crankshaft generally designated as 14, in position to operate in the machine. The crankshaft commonly comprises a rough steel or other bar which is bent in various directions to give the necessary or desired crank throws. This results in a plurality of offset journal portions, one of which is shown in detail in FIG. 3, and generally designated 16, and which journaled portions are machined, ground, or otherwise finished with a degreee of accuracy sufficient to operate in a satisfactory manner.

Crankshaft 14, as stated, is carried in bearing 12 and a companion bearing not shown, and is driven by a 'belt 18 actuated from any convenient moving part of the threshing mechanism. Belt 18 drives a pulley 20 suitably fixed on shaft 14, and which therefore causes shaft 14 to rotate The bearings cooperating with journals 16 in the illustrative machine are split wood blocks 22, each comprising a base portion 24 and a cap portion 26. Portions 24 and 26 are secured to each other by means of belts 28 and 30, which also engage the bottom wall 32 of a unit commonly known as a straw walker 34, thus securing the bearing 22 rigidly on the straw walker 34. Straw walker 34 is elongated and is supported adjacent one end by bearing 22, the unit being given a revolving movement, at least at such end by its support on the rotating crankshaft 14. In the threshing mechanism, it supports the threshed straw and tends to agitate it and propel it toward the exit end of the machine. For this purpose, it is provided with a plurality of teeth 36, and other features which do not relate to the present invention, and therefore need not 'be further described.

The improved journal bearing is shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The crankshaft is formed from a rough steel or other rod or shaft and presents a plurality of bent portions as 38 which do not need to be finished, but which connect the several journaled portions which are offset from each other as aforesaid. By machining, grinding or otherwise finishing, journal portions 16 are provided with reduced portions 40 to 48 inclusive, which are spaced axially of journal 16 and separated by lands 50, 52, 54 and 56 respectively. Forming reduced portion 40, at the same time produces a wall or shoulder 58 between bent portion 38 and portion 40. It also produces a wall or shoulder 60 between portion 40 and land 50. In similar manner, producing reduced portion 42, at the same time produces a shoulder 62 between it, and land 50 and a shoulder 64 between it and land 52. In similar manner, shoulders 66 and 68 are formed at the ends of reduced portion 44; 70 and '72 at the ends of land 46, and shoulders 74 and 76 at the ends of reduced portion 48. It is to be noted that the grinding or other machining of reduced portions 40 thru 48 will readily also finished or machine the several walls or shoulders 58 tru 76. Furthermore, any reasonable inaccuracies in the location of the journal portions by reason of the comparatively rough bending operation of the original rod will be corrected in the machining process by reason of the usual chucking procedure. Thus, while reduced portions 40 thru 48 can be readily made to run true by well-known machining processes, the tolerances of the outer surfaces of bent portions 38 and lands 50 thru 56 can be quite liberal for reasons which will appear.

Base portion 24 and cap portion 26 of bearing 22 are so formed that they form, when they are clamped together by bolts 28 and 30, a bore which is of a size to have a running fit on reduced portions 40 thru 48of journal 16, the whole being of a length to form a running fit. with shoulders 58 and 76. Furthermore, this bore. which may be generally designated as 78 is enlarged.

at intervals to provide grooves of a size and location to receive lands 50, 52, 54 and 56. The grooves are designated as 80, 82, 84 and 86 and are formed of a width to provide a suitable running fit with their asso-' ciated shoulders. Thus, groove 80 will engage shoulders 69 and 62 and groove 84 will engage shoulders 68 and 70'.

As stated, the several shoulders will be made smooth by the machining process and will therefore present suitable bearing surfaces to the Walls of the grooves. The grooves are preferably formed deeper than the height of. the lands 50, 52, etc, so that the grooveswill clear the outer peripheral surfaces of the lands, as clearly shown in FIG. 4. Thus, it is not necessary that the outer surfaces of the lands be exactly concentric with the reduced portions of journal 16 with which they are asso-v ciated, since therough peripheral surfaces of the lands will not contact'such peripheral surfaces at any time. The walls of the grooves runin contact or in running relation to the walls or shoulders of the lands, and preferably also in contact with the shoulders formed between theendmost reduced portions and the remaining rough portions of the shaft. This results in a relatively large number of shoulders to resist the end .thrust' set up by any tendency of the bearing 22 to travel along V thru 48, and thus the shaft is not appreciably weakened by the machining necessary to produce the journal surfaces 40, 42, etc., and the lands 50 thru 56.

4 I, By virtue of the invention; it is possible to provide a journal bearing furnishing a relatively large number of thrust surfaces to resist end play, and which maybe made with a minimum of operations and suchoperations as will largely eliminate the possibility of human error.

While the inventionhasbeen illustrated in connection with a crankshaft: and straw walker bearing for a thresht ing apparatus, as well as a typeof bearing comprising a wood block running .on a 'steel shaft, the arrangement might be used in connection with journalbearings for other purposes-as, for example; bearings for supporting rotary shafts in .anyxmachinery wherevlow .cost with a high :degree of reliability is important. Furthermore,

the bearing may be, made of other materials than wood, manyof the advantages being characteristic of the struc-. ture regardless of the material used, and it is not intended i that the invention shall be taken as limited to a strawv walker bearing, to a woodbearing,.or in. fact in any manner beyond thelrequirements of the claim;

What is claimed. as new anddesired to be secured by Letters Patentof-the United States'is;

The method of makingacrankshaft which comprises the steps of t utilizing a rough shaft of substantiallyuniform diameter,

bending said shaft to provide. a plurality of offset journals,

finishing a pluralityof portions on each of said journals toa reduced diameter less than that of the original rough shaft and :spaced along saidjournal to leave .a

land between each reduced portion and the next, which land will have the diameter of the originalrough shaft;

No references. cited.

RICHARD H. BAN-ES, JR., Primary Examiner. 

